Amount of municipal waste has not grown and recovery has
replaced disposal at landfill sites

Corrected on 11 January 2019.
The corrections are indicated in red.

In 2017, the total amount of municipal waste was 2 811 589 tonnes. The amount has remained at the
same level as in the last few years.

Disposal of municipal waste at landfill sites has decreased
strongly according to the prevailing development in recent years.
In 2017, only around one per cent of municipal waste was disposed
at landfill sites. It has been replaced by recovery of waste: both
energy production and material recovery are competing for the
recovery of former landfill waste. Recovery of municipal waste as
energy has in recent years been the predominant recovery
method.

Amount of municipal waste by treatment method in
2003 to 2017 (Corrected on 11. January 2019)

The use of municipal waste as a fuel for district heat
production of built-up areas has become established and its role
has grown there. Organic components included in energy-recovered
municipal waste also curb greenhouse gas emissions in case they
replace the use of fossil fuels.

Amount of separately collected municipal waste has grown

Slightly less municipal waste than before ends up in
material-specific separate collection and through it to recycling.
However, plastic, wood, paper and paperboard containing mixed
components are also collected for energy recovery and are separated
from other municipal waste. If we add up separately collected or
separated waste components for recycling and energy recovery, the
amount of waste separated from mixed waste into recovery has
grown.

In 2017, around 99 per cent of municipal waste was recovered,
which is more than ever before. The share of material recovery fell
to 41 per cent, but the share of
energy recovery went up to 58 per
cent. The material recovery rate is high particularly for fibre
packaging and other collected fibre. Most of biowaste is composted
or digested, in total around 370,000 tonnes. The digestion residue
is used in soil improvement or landscaping, as is compost soil.

Total amount of municipal waste per inhabitant has
stabilised

The growth in the amount of municipal waste has evened out in
recent years, varying between 2.7 and 2.8 million tonnes.
Calculated per capita, the amount has stabilised at around 500
kilogrammes a year. In 2017, the ratio grew by a few kilogrammes from the previous year
and stood at 510 kilogrammes per
capita.